12 Things Anyone With Iron Deficiency Anemia Will Understand

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Everyone with Iron Deficiency Anemia knows it can get exhausting. On the outside we look fine (uh…most of the time) and we’re able to carry on with our day-to-day lives with the help of our good friends iron and vitamin C.

But some days are definitely worse than others. This is for those days when our iron stores aren’t what they’re supposed to be, and all we want to do is curl up with a piece of red meat and sleep.

Here’s to all my Spoonies with IDA — I dedicate this post to you, my fellow iron fighters.

1. When there’s steak and your primal instinct kicks in

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Stand clear of the line of fire. And by fire I mean my path to the steak. Give me the bloodiest cut of beef you have. Rare isn’t even a question, I’m teetering on the line of undercooked. YOLO.

2. No one ever sees your cute summer clothes because they’re covered by a sweatshirt

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“Is that a new shirt?” Nope. You walk by a sale rack of tank tops and laugh, knowing it’s a lost cause. You can either be warm and comfy or cold and cute. Pick one.

3. When you cross your legs and get a leg cramp that trumps all cramps

4. Accidentally bumping into something and getting a bruise the size of Texas

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Bruises on bruises. Bruises in the morning. Bruises in the evening. Bruises be like “started from the bottom now we here.” We get them because of low vitamin C levels, which help our bodies absorb iron, but WHERE THEY CAME FROM IS ALWAYS A MYSTERY.

5. A good day is your legs DON’T feel like cannons about to explode

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I feel like skipping! Stairs are no match for me! Swollen joints are common with IDA, especially when there’s not enough vitamin C to help absorb the iron. Woah, look out — speed walker, coming through!

6. You accidentally cut yourself shaving and suddenly the bathroom looks like the scene of a heinous crime

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I promise to never buy white towels again.

7. You freak out over B.O.G.O. iron and vitamin C supplements

Photo by Ellen Gibbs

GRAB ALL THE BOTTLES OF VITAMIN C. And not those chalky ones that are hard to swallow.

8. You try to make small talk during blood tests

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“So, what are you studying?”

9. An hour after you wake up you take a nap

GIF courtesy of blog.coop.com.au

After nine hours of decent sleep, your body decides to crash at 10 IN THE MORNING because there aren’t enough red blood cells to carry oxygen through the body. Oh, and those bags under my eyes? They’re designer.

10. You start to feel sluggish after a few days with no red meat

Photo by Ellen Gibbs

Seriously — where’s the beef? Chicken won’t cut it. Pork chops — maybe. In the words of her holiness Selena Gomez, the heart want what it wants (steak, that is).